Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer predicted the Blues' playing XI for their first match of the T20 World Cup 2024 against Ireland which will be played at New York’s Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
India last won the T20 World Cup in 2007 by beating Pakistan in the final and their last ICC trophy came in 2013 when they lifted the Champions Trophy by beating England in the final. It has been almost 11 years and the wait for the trophy continues.
There is much debate about who will be opening the innings for India or who will bat at which number, Jaffer believes that India will open with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as Yashasvi Jaiswal didn’t play in the warm-up match against Bangladesh.
"I feel India will open with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli against Ireland. Yashasvi Jaiswal wasn't given a chance to bat in the warm-up game. This was an indication that Jaiswal may not play. You may see Rishabh Pant bat at No.3 and then Suryakumar Yadav at No.4,” Jaffer said on his YouTube channel.
He then stated that the Blues may go with three spinners Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav before naming Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh as the pacers. And Hardik Pandya or Shivam Dube to fill in for the fifth bowler quota.
Kohli ended the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 as the tournament’s top-scorer and he is in excellent form. Jaffer believes that the 35-year-old will try to play aggressively just like he did in the IPL.
"I don't know whether he [Kohli] will be opening or batting at No.3 [(Kohli], but his role will be the same. He will try to play the aggressive brand of cricket which he did in the IPL and will also stabilize the innings when needed," he added.
Wasim Jaffer's predicted XI for India's match against Ireland:
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh.
India’s squad for World Cup
Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj.
Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan.
Schedule of India’s matches
India vs Ireland — June 5 (New York)
India vs Pakistan — June 9 (New York)
India vs USA — June 12 (New York)
India vs Canada — June 15 (Lauderhill)
